Presenting Science for Policy - Program on Climate Change · § Policy significance – research that has implications for the policy world ... 5Ws or why does it matter now ... Presenting

PRESENTING SCIENCE FOR POLICYBRANDON RAY

NOVEMBER 3, 2016

OVERVIEW

• Review of Policy Process and Policy Papers

• Case Studies

• Guidelines for Speech Writing and Delivery

• Sample Presentations

• Assignment Overview

POLICY PROCESS REVIEW

§ Policy significance – research that has implications for the policy world§ Challenges: Inaccessible to most policymakers, lengthy

§ Policy accessibility – readability of research for the policy world§ Challenges: Differentiated by level of audience or type of audience

§ Policy actionability – research that contains implementable recommendations§ Challenges: Concrete actions, realism

§ Public debate – writing in the public sphere to influence decisions§ Challenges: Not always actionable, activism

http://warontherocks.com/2015/06/what-is-policy-relevance/

ONE-PAGER STRUCTURE

1) Executive Summary/BLUF – States policy recommendation at beginning

2) Introduction – overview of issue/problem and your argument

3) Background – provides history of the issue

4) Analysis – why will policy recommendation solve problem, evidence-based

5) Courses of Action – provide alternative recommendations

6) Conclusion – Summarize argument and provide “ask”

POLICY PAPER TECHNIQUES REVIEW

WRITTEN TECHNIQUES

• Know your audience

• Use bullets instead of long paragraphs

• Cover all aspects

• Don’t include too many details

• Clear, concise statements

• Use a simple vocabulary or explain any non-standard terms you need to use

• Provide impacts

• Acknowledge other courses of action (COA) and challenges to your argument

• Avoid clichés and bureaucratic jargon

DESIGN TECHNIQUES

• Visually pleasing (include graphics that are easy to interpret)

• Place most important evidence in boxes or sidebars

• Use underline, italics, bold, and headings for highlighting points

• Effective use of white space

• Cite any figures you use, if you did not create them

• Maintain consistent formatting throughout the paper

CASE STUDIES

• Leonardo DiCaprio at 2014 United Nations Climate Summit in NYC

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka6_3TJcCkA

• President Obama at Georgetown University in 2013

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY-gZXq_0nM

STRUCTURES

Support

Conclusion

Argument

Background

Intro

Traditional Lead/Attention Getter

5Ws or why does it matter now (e.g. Nutgraph)

Quotes/Sources/Context

KickerPersuasive

GUIDELINES FOR SPEECH WRITING

• Be concise and use simple language

• Incorporate narrative clues (e.g., First…second…third…)

• Repeat key ideas

• Reduce pronouns

• Use statistics or quotations sparingly

• Promote inclusiveness not division

• Develop a cadence (e.g., rhythmic triads, parallelism, alliteration)

DELIVERY TECHNIQUES

• Practice (especially while writing your speech!)

• Use humor or sympathy to develop connection with the audience

• Insert appropriate pauses (especially at punctuation marks)

• Be careful of tone

• Highlight conjunctions

DEVELOP SAMPLE PRESENTATION

ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW

RESOURCES

• Scholastic (2016). “Tips from the Insiders: How to Write a Political Speech.” Available at: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/tips-insiders-how-write-political-speech. Accessed on November 3, 2016

• University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Writing Center (2014). “Speeches.” Available at: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/speeches/. Accessed on November 3, 2016.

• Neale, Thomas H. and Dana Ely (2007). “Speechwriting in Perspective: A Brief Guide to Effective and Persuasive Communication.” Available at: http://www.au.af.mil/au/ awc/awcgate/crs/98-170.pdf. Accessed on November 3, 2016.